Ken Friedman, one of the nation’s top restaurateurs whose empire includes San Francisco’s Tosca Cafe, has stepped down from running his restaurants following allegations of sexual harassment.
The allegations from 10 women came in a New York Times story on Tuesday and focus on Friedman’s conduct at the Spotted Pig in New York. The elite eatery is both famous for its Michelin stars and for its celebrity backers and clientele, including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow and chef Mario Batali, who was also accused this week of sexual harassment.
The charismatic Friedman and acclaimed chef April Bloomfield co-own five restaurants in New York and the Hearth and Hound in Los Angeles, which just opened last Friday. They took over Tosca, a North Beach mainstay, in 2013, and upgraded it from a legendary dive bar into a bustling Italian cafe.
With the allegations, Friedman has become the latest restaurant luminary to fall from grace after being accused of sexual harassment. Others who have been caught up in misconduct scandals include Batali, who stepped away from day-to-day operations at his businesses this week, John Besh in New Orleans and Michael Chiarello, who owns Coqueta in San Francisco and Bottega in Yountville. In October 2016, Chiarello settled a lawsuit with two female ex-servers at Coqueta who accused him of sexual harassment.
America’s reckoning with workplace harassment and sexual assault began with revelations about the alleged misconduct of producer Harvey Weinstein and has brought intense scrutiny to various professions, most recently the restaurant and hospitality business.
Male celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain and Tom Colicchio have been outspoken in their criticism of the male-dominated restaurant culture, which they describe as being rife with sexual harassment.
The Times story on Friedman said the hospitality industry is known for its casual standards on workplace conduct. Rowdy late-night drinking sessions and sexual banter are part of the culture. But Friedman’s employees described his restaurants as being unusually “sexualized and coercive.” In interviews, Friedman said his goals were to create restaurants that served exceptional food but that were also as sexy as any bar.
The 10 women who spoke to the Times said that Friedman subjected them to unwanted sexual advances. They alleged he groped them in public, demanded sex or made text requests for nude pictures or group sex. Others said that working for him required pulling all-night shifts at private parties that included public sex and nudity, and enduring catcalls and gropes from guests who are Friedman’s friends.
An invitation-only space on the third floor of the Spotted Pig was a regular late-night stop for Batali and other VIPs. Employees of the Spotted Pig told the Times that they regularly experienced or witnessed sexual aggression by Batali, often with Friedman’s knowledge. A former server said that the staff referred to Batali as “the Red Menace” for the way he behaved with women.
Batali issued a statement Tuesday apologizing, saying, “There are no excuses. I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused.”
For his part, Friedman did not deny the allegations against him and said that he “apologizes now publicly” for his actions. He acknowledged that his behavior “can accurately be described at times as abrasive, rude and frankly wrong.”
He praised the women who work at his restaurants as “among the best in the business and putting any of them in humiliating situations is unjustifiable.” The Times reported that Friedman would take an indefinite leave of absence from his restaurants.
